1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a patient supporting device such as a dental chair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously existing dental chairs have a number of shortcomings which can result in patient discomfort, inconvenience for the patient, as well as inefficiency and fatigue for the dentist. For one thing, the dental chair is of fixed dimension and so it cannot properly accommodate patients of different-sized skeletal frames. A short patient will not fit the chair the same way as a taller patient. The chair cannot comfortably accommodate both. Also, the common dental chair does not have any means for articulating the head so that the oral cavity is conveniently located for the dentist. Support for various parts of the patient's anatomy is lacking as the chair is adjusted in causing the patient to recline or sit up more straight as circumstances demand. Conventional dental chairs also may be difficult for a patient to get into and out of.
Inflatable bladders have been used in conjunction with some chairs and beds as a means for supporting or manipulating a person's anatomy, but have not dealt with the problems noted above. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,021, a headrest is provided in which four bladders are engaged by the patient's head and can be selectively inflated to tilt the head to a desired position. However, the device of this patent provides no pads for supporting the head, and discloses a rather elaborate overlapping arrangement of bladders for obtaining maximum movement. U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,403 provides bladder means for use in a hospital bed for turning a patient, but is not adapted for a dental chair which requires no such patient movement. Other designs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,192,541, 3,326,601, 3,330,598, and 3,608,961, but these are for providing more comfort in conventional seats rather than being adapted to solve the problem of a dental chair discussed above.